>As a general rule, NEVER REPLY TO SPAM. First,
this list is set to "Reply

I would think that with all of the wonderful (sarcastically,
mind you)software and hardware out there for commiting computer
vandalism, peoplewould get in the habit of applying them to spammers.
Vigilante-ism, sortof thing. Or not. Just my two cents... Reading over your lists of perfect orchestras,
I noticed theinstruments were all European, more or less. Has
anyone had much successusing Asian and African instruments in contemporary orchestras.Historically, European and Asian instruments came from
the same roots, orso I have been led to believe. Is it just too impractical?
Thank you.

John Bush

--Imperial Space CowboyBut, good Lord, what do I care about the laws of nature
and arithmetic ifI have my own reasons for disliking them, including the
one about two andtwo making four! - Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Notes
from Underground---------------------------------------------------------

Well, Asian and African instruments belong with
others of their kind.Instruments which are native to Asia and Africa usually
do not displayenough range capacity. African instruments usually differ more in the
sound than the pitch.You don't see contrabass, bass, alto, tenor, etc. African
instruments,because oftentimes these instruments are not played in
groups, andusually not in sections. Asian instruments are as a rule, generally always
percussive. Thereare some wind, but not many. An orchestra comprised solely
ofpercussion instruments would be displeasing to the ear.
The Gamelanorchestras of Asia, yes, are made up of percussion, but
there are fewenough people so that it doesn't sound bad. But 100 or
so peope playingonly percussion would be disastrous. Also, Asian and African instruments are generally
too quiet and wouldnot carry with the rest of the orchestral texture if
they were usedwith Western instruments. Now, I'm not telling you what to do. Really, anything
could be donemusic wise, and you could use African and Asian instruments
in anorchestra. But the suggestion to disregard Western instruments
andcomprise our "Perfect Orchestra" is absurd, ludicrous,
and illogical.That is because we on this list do not know so much about
African andAsian instruments, and we don't know the respective sizes
andcategories of the instruments.--- John Micheal Bush <bj914@scn.org> wrote:> Reading over your lists of perfect orchestras,
I noticed the> instruments were all European, more or less.
Has anyone had much success> using Asian and African instruments in contemporary
orchestras.> Historically, European and Asian instruments came from
the same roots, or> so I have been led to believe. Is it just too
impractical? Thank you.>> John Bush

Anybody else have any ideas??? This is something
I've been dreaming of fora while, Grant has probably nailed it; not real practical.
We have theEastern Music Festival here in Greensboro, NC annually
and this is perhapsthe path I may eventually take to get enough musicians
together toexperiment a little. I'm not sure how far in advance
a work would need tobe presented before consideration into any concert or
recital.

For those of you interested in finding out more about
the EMF, go to theWebsite www.easternmusicfestival.com. This is a
wonderful experience; forthose of you passing through central NC, you would be
glad you stopped byfor a concert or two. These kids from all around
the world really do amagnificent job.

All for now, Dan MartinBari Sax, EEb Contra-Alto Clarinet

>Date: Wed, 16 Jun 1999 15:17:41 -0700>To: Daniel Martin <dmartin@gdats.com>>From: Grant Green <gdgreen@contrabass.com>>Subject: Re: Obscure Works>>>My dream pieces are not quite as large. One day
(years from now most>>likely) I'd like to do some chamber music in the "style"
of Holst and>>Stravinsky. The instruments are to be: Contrabassoon,
Cello, French Horn,>>Oboe, Piccolo. For the Bach fans I'd also like
to add Harpsichord and Harp>>(sparingly) to a few works.>>>>Does anyone out there know of any pieces already written
using just these>>instruments or similar???>>Can't think of any for quite that slate, but if you
substitute string bass>for contrabassoon, and flute for piccolo, you're likely
to find a few.>>It occurs to me that the selection of instruments might
be constraining:>for example, it might be difficult to write a lot of
harmonies with the>piccolo (the overlap between the useful range of the
oboe and piccolo is>probably less than an octave), and French horn doesn't
blend particularly>well with piccolo or oboe (although contrabassoon and
cello should blend>well). Perhaps use flute (doubling piccolo sometimes),
and possibly>substitute bass clarinet for the FH - that would give
you two soprano>(flute, oboe) and two alto (upper register bass clarinet
and cello) voices,>two tenor/bass voices (lower register bass clarinet
and cello), one>contrabass voice (contrabassoon), and one altissimo/descant
voice (piccolo>- best used sparingly ;-) ).>>Enjoy!>>Grant>>Thanks,>>Dan Martin>>Bari Sax and EEb Contra-alto Clarinet

I just got back from seeing the Phantom Menace again,
and I would like toconfirm, it was definitely a didgeridoo being played
at the start of thebattle sequence. Without a doubt. Still didn't
hear any heckelphones,though.